Do you really need to eat a set amount of calories to loose?

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lizzys123
lizzys123 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you really need to eat a set amount of calories per day to loose weight?
Does starvation mode really exist if you don't eat enough and prevent you from loosing?
Should you eat your exercise calories?
Oh the questions go on.....
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  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Do you really need to eat a set amount of calories per day to loose weight?

    You need to eat fewer calories than you expend, over time. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to eat a specific number of calories daily.
    Does starvation mode really exist if you don't eat enough and prevent you from loosing?

    No.
    Should you eat your exercise calories?
    Oh the questions go on.....

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Do you really need to eat a set amount of calories per day to loose weight?
    Does starvation mode really exist if you don't eat enough and prevent you from loosing?
    Should you eat your exercise calories?
    Oh the questions go on.....
    You need to eat at a deficit to lose weight. Period.

    Starvation mode as most people believe it to be is largely a myth. It doesnt kick in until people are severly, SEVERLY, under calories for a long period of time. Studies I have read states it can take 70+ hours of FASTING for any slowdown to really occur.

    Some people eat back their calories, some dont. I dont
  • alexuh
    alexuh Posts: 108 Member
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    Not a set amount - just an amount that puts you in a deficit.
    Starvation mode does not exist.
    Everyone is different. Most people eat back their exercise calories, or at least most/some.There's no need to create too big a deficit - it usually leads to a binge.

    :flowerforyou:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Do you really need to eat a set amount of calories per day to loose weight?
    Does starvation mode really exist if you don't eat enough and prevent you from loosing?
    Should you eat your exercise calories?
    Oh the questions go on.....
    You need to eat at a deficit to lose weight. Period.

    Starvation mode as most people believe it to be is largely a myth. It doesnt kick in until people are severly, SEVERLY, under calories for a long period of time. Studies I have read states it can take 70+ hours of FASTING for any slowdown to really occur.

    Some people eat back their calories, some dont. I dont

    The problem in not eating them back if you are using the EAT method and have an appropriate, or already aggressive weekly wight loss goal, is that not eating enough will lead to a larger % of your weight loss coming from lean muscle, and less from fat.

    This means you will reach your goal weight faster eating less, but you will have a higher BF% at every weight during the loss than if your deficit was smaller. So ask yourself is losing weight the important thing to me, or is losing overall fat and looking better at your goal weight? This could help dictate if you should eat them back or not....

    Another thing to pay attention to would be health, hair, skin, nails, mood, gym performance, typically the higher cal (smaller deficit) would be better in all of those aspects, assuming what you eat would be similar.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Not a set amount - just an amount that puts you in a deficit.
    Starvation mode does not exist.
    Everyone is different. Most people eat back their exercise calories, or at least most/some.There's no need to create too big a deficit - it usually leads to a binge.

    :flowerforyou:

    Starvation mode does exist but essentially it isn't no weight loss or weight gain, but is a slower metabolism, meaning a lower BMR, larger % of weight loss coming from lean muscle, among other health issues. It really depends on size of deficit, amount of body fat you have and a few other things on when or if it would happen to someone.
  • cookiemcguire
    cookiemcguire Posts: 7 Member
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    You mention eating a deficit to lose. Deficit to what, the 1200 calories MFP says I should consume? I struggle some days to make that 1200 and mostly stay within 1100 - 1200. I just started this and hoping it works for me.
  • ChriJMitch
    ChriJMitch Posts: 70 Member
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    Do you really need to eat a set amount of calories per day to loose weight?

    Yes, you need to be at a deficit every day to lose. Sorry, its just science.
    Does starvation mode really exist if you don't eat enough and prevent you from loosing?

    Sort of. "Starvation mode' is actually caused by the stress hormone cortisol. Every persons body starts to really ramp up cortisol production at certain calorie deficits, so its best just to stick to less than 500 under your normal BMR calories because 99% of people are not going to have much cortisol production at this deficit (unless you are just really stressed out from other things in your life, which yes can actually ramp up cortisol as well). Cortisol is the mortal enemy a fitness plan, whether you are a bodybuilder or just looking to loose 5 lbs. It causes your body to basically start shutting down anything that is taking up extra energy (usually important stuff, like immune function, calcium upkeep in your bones, etc.) and to store any and all calories your body takes in as fat. Its basically your body sounding an alarm saying "BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! FAMINE IS COMING!". It is an evolutionary trait that allows us to survive for long periods without food. Unfortunately, its not really useful anymore for our modern world with abundant calorie sources.

    Should you eat your exercise calories?

    If you set up MFP to say you wanted to LOSE x lbs per week, then MFP has ALREADY subtracted out the necessary calories needed to lose weight based on your goal and your BMR. So yes, your goal is eat your calories everyday, or darn close to it. And it is always better to exercise and eat more, than just skip the exercise and eat less. Remember that exercise stimulates muscle growth, and the more muscle fiber you have, the higher your body's calorific upkeep is, helping you burn fat while you literally do nothing.
  • alexuh
    alexuh Posts: 108 Member
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    Not a set amount - just an amount that puts you in a deficit.
    Starvation mode does not exist.
    Everyone is different. Most people eat back their exercise calories, or at least most/some.There's no need to create too big a deficit - it usually leads to a binge.

    :flowerforyou:

    Starvation mode does exist but essentially it isn't no weight loss or weight gain, but is a slower metabolism, meaning a lower BMR, larger % of weight loss coming from lean muscle, among other health issues. It really depends on size of deficit, amount of body fat you have and a few other things on when or if it would happen to someone.

    The majority of people think of starvation mode as not eating breakfast, eating 1200 calories here and there, going without food for a few hours... as putting them in starvation mode. I kinda assumed they were thinking the same and asking if it was true in that sense. :smile:
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
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    You mention eating a deficit to lose. Deficit to what, the 1200 calories MFP says I should consume? I struggle some days to make that 1200 and mostly stay within 1100 - 1200. I just started this and hoping it works for me.

    Deficit to what your body needs to maintain your current weight. So if your body burns 2000 calories per day eating 1500 calories would put you at a deficit of 500 calories.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    You mention eating a deficit to lose. Deficit to what, the 1200 calories MFP says I should consume? I struggle some days to make that 1200 and mostly stay within 1100 - 1200. I just started this and hoping it works for me.

    Did you put in 2lbs a week weight loss? What about activity level?

    I see you are an older woman but 1200 is not a lot of calories...

    If you put 2lbs a week change that to 1/2lb a week as you only have 25lbs to lose...
  • cookiemcguire
    cookiemcguire Posts: 7 Member
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    Sounds like common sense however how do I find out how many calories my body needs to maintain my weight in order to eat less and lose weight. Or has MFB already done that and come up with the 1200 they say I should consume?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    You mention eating a deficit to lose. Deficit to what, the 1200 calories MFP says I should consume? I struggle some days to make that 1200 and mostly stay within 1100 - 1200. I just started this and hoping it works for me.

    Ok - 1200 is MFP's lowest DEFAULT minimum. So it's possible (even likely) that you are at a pretty big deficit already. Really large deficits do not support lean muscle mass. Is your goal to lose fat?......or do you just want a specific number on the scale?

    To figure out if 1200 is already a big deficit.....look up your BMR (calories burned while sleeping) and your TDEE (maintenance).

    You (obviously) need to eat less than TDEE.......but under BMR is not going to help you keep lean muscle.

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    To eat 1200 (or more) calories......cut out so-called "diet" foods. Eat dairy (with fat)......eat eggs (yolks too)... eat regular salad dressing......eat cheese. Foods like avocado, nuts, nut butters, olive oil, all have really healthy fats. Your body requires dietary fat for many reasons.
  • cookiemcguire
    cookiemcguire Posts: 7 Member
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    Well 1200 may not be a lot of calories, but as I said I have trouble getting to that goal each day. I did put down I'd like to lose 2 lbs but MFB has me on a 1/2 lb goal at the 1200 calorie rate. My activity is limited to none other than walking my dog a couple times a day. He's overweight too.
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
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    Sounds like common sense however how do I find out how many calories my body needs to maintain my weight in order to eat less and lose weight. Or has MFB already done that and come up with the 1200 they say I should consume?

    Yes, MFP estimates that based on your height, weight, age, sex, activity level and the number of pounds you want to lose each week. If you eat what MFP tells you to, that's a deficit.
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
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    Well 1200 may not be a lot of calories, but as I said I have trouble getting to that goal each day. I did put down I'd like to lose 2 lbs but MFB has me on a 1/2 lb goal at the 1200 calorie rate. My activity is limited to none other than walking my dog a couple times a day. He's overweight too.

    If you have a hard time eating 1200 calories every day how did you end up needing to lose weight in the first place?
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
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    Well 1200 may not be a lot of calories, but as I said I have trouble getting to that goal each day. I did put down I'd like to lose 2 lbs but MFB has me on a 1/2 lb goal at the 1200 calorie rate. My activity is limited to none other than walking my dog a couple times a day. He's overweight too.
    this made me laugh much harder than it shouldve
  • cookiemcguire
    cookiemcguire Posts: 7 Member
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    Followed your suggestion and went to that website to figure out my BMR (1161) and TDEE (1393). Subtracted the 15% they suggest from the TDEE and came up with 1184 calories, Surprisingly that's just about what I have been reaching every day. It is also below the TDEE but not below the BMR as you mentioned as being the right scenario. Thanks for the suggestions.
  • ami5000psu
    ami5000psu Posts: 391 Member
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    Well 1200 may not be a lot of calories, but as I said I have trouble getting to that goal each day. I did put down I'd like to lose 2 lbs but MFB has me on a 1/2 lb goal at the 1200 calorie rate. My activity is limited to none other than walking my dog a couple times a day. He's overweight too.

    MFP won't go lower than 1200 calories no matter what you set as your weekly weight loss goal.
  • cookiemcguire
    cookiemcguire Posts: 7 Member
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    I honestly do not know the answer to that question. Can't say I was eating only 1200 calories before I started keeping track, really don't know but most likely ate much more. Now that I am counting calories and not eating the unnecessary snacks and paying attention to what I eat and cutting down portions, I can see that I ate just to eat.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    Do you really need to eat a set amount of calories per day to loose weight?
    Does starvation mode really exist if you don't eat enough and prevent you from loosing?
    Should you eat your exercise calories?
    Oh the questions go on.....

    -You need to eat fewer calories than you expend in order to loose weight. If you want a loose a certain amount of weight per week, you'll need to restrict your diet to a certain number of calories.

    -Starvation mode exists, but it will not prevent you from loosing weight in a deficit.

    -If you calculate your TDEE as sedentary, or use MFP's method, yes. If you use your exercise calories to calculate your TDEE, no.

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